Christian Bale Admits He Was Initially “Jealous” When Ben Affleck Was Cast As Batman

Christian Bale Admits He Was Initially "Jealous" When Ben Affleck Was Cast As Batman

Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale and now….Ben Affleck. By the time “Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice” arrives it will be five actors playing Bruce Wayne/Batman in just under thirty years. It speaks both to the viability of the character and the constant reinvention the franchise has gone through. But arguably, the peak thus far has been Christopher Nolan‘s The Dark Knight trilogy. Together with Christian Bale, they created a Batman worthy of the comic mythology, grounded in reality and stripped of the more cartoony takes in previous efforts. Many people wanted more after “The Dark Knight Rises” — as it turns out, so did Bale.

With the actor now doing the rounds for “Exodus: Gods And Kings,” it was inevitable that he would be asked about Affleck taking over the cowl, and rather than the standard I-wish-him-luck speech, Bale was candid about the mixed emotions he felt when he first got the news.

“I’ve got to admit initially, even though I felt that it was the right time to stop, there was always a bit of me going, ‘Oh go on… Let’s do another.’ So when I heard there was someone else doing it, there was a moment where I just stopped and stared into nothing for half an hour,” he told Empire (via Comic Book Movie). But Bale realized what he was feeling was probably misplaced.

“But I’m 40,” he said. “The fact that I’m jealous of someone else playing Batman…I think I should have gotten over it by now. I haven’t spoken with Ben, but I emailed him offering bits of advice that I learned the hard way. I would imagine he is doing everything he can to avoid anything that I did.”

Sounds like Bale offered the olive branch, and it’ll be interesting hear what kind of advice he offered Affleck. First recommendation, we’d imagine, is to not let the internet comments get you down…

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